De U van omvolking

U is for omvolking. A Conceptual History of the Germanic Branch of Population ‘Replacement’ Ideology The rise of omvolking as a political concept in the Low Countries raises questions about its history, and notably its genealogical connection to Umvolkung. This article traces the genealogy of Umvolkung, thus connecting contemporary population ‘replacement’ discourse to a larger German intellectual and political history. Through conceptual and archival analysis, we distinguish three interrelated strands in the conceptual development of Umvolkung: its emergence in völkisch-nationalist thought as anxiety over de-Germanization; its consolidation under National Socialism as a framework for Germanization, settler colonialism, and racial engineering; and its articulation within demographic-eugenic debates on declining birthrates. We argue that these different layers of signification were never fixed but changed through shifting scholarly, political, and institutional contexts, enabling the concept to persist beyond 1945. By providing current uses with a longer genealogy, this article contributes to ongoing discussions about the afterlives of National Socialist concepts and the role of historical knowledge in contemporary political discourse.